gangstaknitta

Light, woodsy and green. This blend is surprisingly non-masculine and rather light. It's very nice, but not for me.

Antique lace smelled like baby powder and overly-sweet vanilla. It faded a bit on my skin, but it was a little too candy-sweet for me.

In bottle: warm and a little pungent, but not overwhelming. a dark floral but not as strong as queen mab

Wet: a very spicy floral and not at all like queen mab, it goes a little powdery a few seconds after application

Dry: very light and powdery--the primrose, I think and I can smell the moonflower in the background, which is a much fresher note so it makes for an interesting combo. It stays close to the skin and lingers just for 3-4 hours before I need a touch up.

In bottle: a soft spicy floral; comforting and cozy

Wet: it smells like fresh rose leaves...and one petal. very fresh with just a hint of floral sweetness.

Dry: this is gorgeous. a sweet floral note comes out. it smells like rose but it doens't go powdery on me like rose normally does. when I run out of moon rose, I'm using Ashpodel as a replacement.

In bottle: sweet and buttery, nutty with cinnamon. It's not too foody; I can't smell the vanilla distinctly, but it sweetens the whole mix

Wet: red hots (ugh cinnamon)

Dry: okay, so I take it back. for the first time every, the cinnamon actually faded and it smells like chimera did in the wet stage...which I really dug.

In bottle: very herbal and purple-fruity. Umm, it actually smelled like pot and berries. Not kidding.

Wet: ha! strawberry starburst! amazing!

Dry: okay...now strawberry bubbalicious. Yes, they are very different smells to me. i seriously have no idea what to think about this one.

In bottle: a gorgeous dark, dark rose; it almost smells like it has honey in it, but I know it's the amber

Wet: the rose smells very ripe and dark and honeyed; kind of like red roses when they just start to wilt and smell a little pungent but still very rosy. I remember my father's rose garden would smell like this in late july.

Dry: the amber goes powdery (actually, the rose probably added to that as rose tends to go powdery too). the rose note fades a good deal. so sad.

In bottle: this is a very light blend, with the apple blossom and myrtle being dominant

Wet: the myrtle is the strongest note, but the apple blossom keeps it from smelling too green

Dry: this scent disappeared almost as soon as it dried! I can faintly smell apple blossom, but only if I put my nose right on my wrist.

In bottle: violet? it's very candy-ish, fruity and purple

Wet: this smelled like next-to-nothing on me. I slathered more on.

Dry: I can still barely smell it, but it smells kind of fruity and powdery

In bottle: interesting...it smells a little green and a little bit like fresh wood shavings??? It's not bad, just not what I expected out of the sandalwood

Wet: oh wow, I don't think i like neroli. It smells very pungent; like oak and it turns sour on me

Dry: VERY sour. yuck. I don't know what happened!

In bottle: a very purple-y incense, very sweet and not at all what I expected

Wet: still very purple and a little earthy

Dry: this morph into a true incense smell, darkly fruity, earthy and regal. it's not too strong and has a moderate throw

In bottle: soft and grassy. I think linden smells somewhat lemony to my nose.

Wet: the herbal component is soft and sweet and slightly clean

Dry: it doesn't really morph on my skin very much. No lemony notes came out as they usually do with linden. It's a nice skin scent and clings close.

In bottle: I think I'm starting to like red patchouli--it's still got the earthy thing going on, but without the smokiness of black patchouli. The ylang ylang is sweet and goes with it perfectly.

Wet: no ylang ylang, sadly. the red patchouli is the dominant note, very earthy and spicy but not overwhelming

Dry: the notes all merge together and smell like sweet, pungent dirt, but different from penny dreadful. It's a very nice blend.

In bottle: a slightly clean floral with a touch of honey

Wet: a sweeeeeeeeet floral now, but the almond tones it down. a woodsy scent is coming out now and oh, could that be the almond turning into PLAY-DOH?? Again?

Dry: okay, this one smells like baby wipes on me. Oh well.

This blend very jasmine and rose; I can just barely smell the leather which prevents it from being too floral to my nose. Dry, it becomes a nice light floral, not too sweet. It has good staying power and the throw is just right--not too strong, not too weak.

In bottle: that's definitely some lotus and some rose going on, but nicely balanced. Here's to hoping the lotus keeps the rose from going powdery...

Wet: yay! no powder so far. The lotus is pretty sweet and almost has a honey-like quality. this is similar to moon rose, but a little bit warmer. I like it.

Dry: In the end, the lotus is a little too sweet for me, but it's always nice to find another non-powdery rose.

In bottle: musky, smoky dragon's blood

Wet: very smoky, like smoldering ash and like a soapy floral(?)

Dry: very very smoky; too much patchouli for me. the DB almost disappears. the scent did have a nice throw, just too bad my skin hates patchouli.

In bottle: a warm, buttery blend. It smells just like spice cake batter, oddly.

Wet: sweet, spicy and a little bit juicy, kind of like hummingbird cake with cream cheese frosting. There appears to be a drop of citrus in the background.

Dry: cinnamon emerges giving it that "red-hots" tone about. So sad because otherwise I would've bought a huge bottle!

Holy smokes...that IS pirate rum! Rum doesn't really work on my skin, but I'm keeping this one out of the sheer novelty. It's a buttery, golden rum with a touch of sweetness to it--definitely top-shelf. I'm off to plunder and pillage now.

In bottle: very woodsy, but not in a masculine way with light florals underneath. There's a green element to it, which I assume to be the herbs.

Wet: a nice light herbal scent, sweetly floral, but very light. There's a warm spicy feel to it. I really like it so far.

Dry: the sandalwood is very light and the florals fade to almost nothing. It's still a lovely blend. I'm going to have to slather some more on and see how it goes.

In bottle: Very very violet...with a slight touch of the purple fruits. This is a very purple scent.

Wet: clean florals come out almost immediately. If I put my nose right up to my skin I can smell the fruits, but it's very faint. It's lost a lot of it's purple-ness.

Dry: It goes rather soapy and clean on me, and I get that generic clean-floral scent that I don't like. There seem to be a million different flowers that my skin does that to.

In bottle: a soft woodsy floral and tea

Wet: the tea scent comes out more; it smells like something lemony wants to emerge, but I don't think there's lemon in it so it's probably a combination of notes

Dry: I think it's the orris not getting along with me, but the blend really does smell like old wood and paper, almost like a dusty bookstore with massive oak shelves and a small bowl of dried flowers and tea leaves in the center of the room.

In bottle: a very dry, white scent...it smells like paper, clean and a little bit floral

Wet: it turns very clean on my skin. this floral has a bit of a bite to it, no doubt due to the lily, which is kinda making me sneeze

Dry: the lily takes over and it's just too clean for me, but it certainly smells like something my mom would wear

In bottle: very clean and woodsy

Wet: still very woodsy like a log that's been sitting in the rain, but there's a spiciness to it, almost like the nutmeg in Baghdad. I managed to get my husband to try this and it smelled rather sweet on him, oddly.

Dry: woodsy and perhaps a little leathery?? There's a very faint spicy-sweet note that keeps it from being completely masculine. I like it, but I don't think I'll be buying a big bottle. On my husband the spicy note is completely amped up, almost like a completely different fragrance.

In bottle: hellloooooo wine. A deep, rich merlot scent.

Wet: still wine, but the mimosa is super sweet. I can smell the clove, which normally doesn't like me, but in this case, it adds an earthiness to and tones down the other notes, which are pretty strong

Dry: oh Madrid, you are just too sweet for me. It's sweet and boozy, but a little too much of both for me to actually walk around all day wearing it. It's a very striking scent.